WHITTIER, Calif., March 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A novel study by a Southern California cardiologist has shown for the first time that Planet Earth's own natural energy has the potential to help reduce high blood pressure.

The study tested the lifestyle concept of grounding, also known as Earthing − the discovery that contact with the Earth's natural, subtle electric charge can lower pain and stress. You can ground yourself by spending time barefoot outdoors on natural surfaces, like grass, soil, gravel, stone, and sand, and indoors using special conductive mats and patches while sitting or sleeping.

The study, appearing in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, involved 10 participants with various degrees of hypertension and trouble controlling blood pressure. Multiple measurements over several months while they were grounded resulted in significant improvement of blood pressure and better control, in many cases well within that time frame.

The participants slept grounded and grounded themselves for several more hours during the day. Subjectively, they reported better sleep, more calmness, and less aches and pains.

According to the Earthing Institute, an online resource for grounding information, grounding restores a healing energetic connection with the Earth lost over time due to human lifestyle, such as living/working elevated off the ground and wearing synthetic soled shoes that block the Earth's energy underfoot.

Grounding may improve blood pressure in a variety of ways:

A calming effect on the nervous system.

A normalizing effect on the stress hormone cortisol.

Reduction of inflammation and pain.

Better sleep.

Improved blood flow.

The study was inspired by anecdotal feedback describing a lowering of high blood pressure after people start grounding.

"The objective was to test the validity of such reports by measuring blood pressure among grounded hypertensive patients over time," says integrative cardiologist Howard Elkin, M.D., who practices in Whittier and Santa Monica, California. "The study, although small in size, gives a glimpse as to the possibility that grounding may be a simple lifestyle strategy for improving blood pressure. Obviously, larger studies are needed to definitively validate such an effect for hypertensive patients. This is a first step."

Hypertension carries serious health risks, including heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, and affects some 75 million American adults (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).